Saturday, October 7, 2017

CD/DVD Review: David Gilmour Returns To Pompeii For New Live Release

Former Pink Floyd singer/guitarist David Gilmour has been meticulous about his solo career since the last days of Floyd. It took him 12 years between the release of the final Pink Floyd album "The Division Bell" and his 2006 solo album "On An Island." He followed that album up with an extensive world tour, which created the very successful live album "Live In Gdansk." It was the last show on the tour and the last live album to feature fellow Pink Floyd member Richard Wright.

Another decade had almost past, before we received David Gilmour's most recent studio album "Rattle That Lock," which debuted at #5 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K. Once again Gilmour followed the release of that album with an extensive world tour. One of the special stops on that tour was Pompeii, which he had played at once before with his Pink Floyd bandmates back in 1971. This would also be the first live performances at Pompeii in front of an audience since AD 79, so you could say this was special and Gilmour pulled out all the stops to record these performances for prosperity.

A film version of the show was released in theaters for one special night on September 13, prior to its release on DVD, Blu-ray, CD and vinyl. The 21-song set mixed together tracks from his last two studio albums along with Pink Floyd favorites and some deep cuts. The night was filmed in ultra high-quality 4K by director Gavin Elder and includes highlights from both nights. Also, since it was outdoors and the arena was never rigged-up for concert lighting, Elder was given the task of not only capturing every possible moment, but also making each moment feel different from any other concert venue.

The new release kicks off much like the same way as his new album with the instrumental "5 A.M.," which leads into "Rattle That Lock." Each song is delivered with such clarity and grace that you can see on Gimour's face how happy he is to perform these new songs live in this amazing setting. He also brings back the ballad "The Blue" and the title song "On An Island" from his last solo album. He pays tribute to his former band member Rick Wright with the Pink Floyd song "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "A Boat Lies Waiting" from his most recent solo album.

Director Gavin Elder does an amazing job capturing the mood of each song as you can almost feel of power of "One Of These Days" and the emotions of "Fat Old Sun." Elder uses specially placed, high-powered cameras to capture angles from overhead and all around the Pompeii arena as this one-of-a-kind light show needs to be seen to believe.

The night closes with the Pink Floyd classics "Run Like Hell," "Time" and "Comfortably Numb" as Gilmour sports a pair of shades. He mentioned in an interview that he needed them to see, because of the way the lights moved and flashed, that he was unable to see his guitar or his fellow bandmates on stage from the brightness. The way these songs are captured on film is stellar as Gilmour and Elder continue to evolve an already incredible stage show.

The DVD also feature a short documentary titled "Pompeii: Then And Now." There is also a deluxe box set of this new release which includes 2CD/Blu-Ray, 24-page hardcover book, postcards and posters. To find out more about David Gilmour and his new live album titled "Live At Pompeii," please visit davidgilmour.com.